Vincent Waraksa, 87, Decorated WWII Veteran

He was born January 22, 1917 in Westfield, Massachusetts and had been a resident of Hopedale for the past 5 � years returning from Lorain, Ohio.

He was a World War II U.S. Army veteran serving as a Private First Class attached to the 592nd Amphibious Engineer Shore and Boat Regiment. He was the recipient of the World War II Victory Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Bronze Arrowhead, and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with two Bronze Stars, the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon with three Bronze Stars, and the American Theater Ribbon.

He was employed as a set-up man and repair technician at United States Steel Corporation’s Lorain-Cuyahoga Works, retiring in 1982 following thirty-three years of service.

A parishioner of Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Lorain, he was a member of the United Polish Club of Lorain, the Polish-American Citizen’s Club of Lorain, the American Slovak Club, and Pulaski Post #38 of the Polish Legion of American Veterans.

Survivors include his daughter Bonnie Chamberlain of Zanesville, Ohio and son John Waraksa of Boston, Massachusetts, grandchildren: Michael Chamberlain, Rebecca Chamberlain, and Kathy Mattern, great grandchildren Dean Mattern and Christopher Harry, and sisters Mary Hodkiewicz, Helen Racis, and Jean Stenpin. He was preceded in death by his wife Florence (nee Citak) in 1998, his parents Frank and Alexandra (nee Boguszewski) Waraksa, and brother Frank Waraksa.

Visitation will be Friday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. in the Gluvna-Shimo-Hromada Funeral Chapel, 3224 Broadway, Lorain. Funeral services will be Saturday beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the funereal chapel and will be followed by his funeral mass at 10:00 a.m. in Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, 1305 East Erie Avenue, Lorain. The Reverend Joseph West, O.F.M., Conv., pastor of Saint Anthony of Padua Parish officiating. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery, Lorain.